Reading Part 1: LE 2
Balanced Reading Program
- we talked about how we have the power to have a positive impact on students with respect to reading
- we shared what we knew, wanted to know and what we learned about balanced reading
- we examined the 4 components of a scaffolded approach to reading instruction: read alouds, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading
- we shared our classrooms and how they are representative of a literacy rich environment
- we began to identify activities that could be implemented in each component of balanced reading.
Some Questions about Balanced Reading
There were lots of questions about balanced reading! Here are just a smattering of them. Did they get answered? Probably not all of them (most of them), but hopefully a few were!
- How do I get a struggling reader who has no interest in reading to become a reader?
- How do I support struggling readers without making them feel like they are doing something completely different from the rest of the group?
- I would love to learn some new strategies for recording student thinking
- What are some ways to successfully track students reading progress?
- What do people do for literacy circles (book clubs) in primary grades
- What does an effective guided reading session look like? What are the look fors, questions that I should be asking?
- I would also love some "quick and simple" assessment tools that others are using and that work well.
- I am curious as to how I might be able to augment my reading at home program, to support students who might not have family members who can help them practice their reading at home.
- How do content area subjects play a role in balanced reading?
- Does this change with primary to junior or does it just look different (example: reading for research in science or social studies, rather than using “language time”)
how to best benefit the FSL student using this program, so that they can also apply its strategies to reading in their first language
How do you get students interested in rereading shared reading texts? Most feel you only need to read a book once.
How to set goals for a variety of different learners
How do I ensure students are actually reading/doing work when I am doing guided reading with small groups?
In a 100 minute literacy block, what does a balanced reading program look like?What are some strategies to make a guided reading session most effective to learners?
Can the balanced literacy program be worked into/with the Daily 5 or Cafe?
What are other effective strategies for assessing students during independent reading other than having them do written responses?
How to set up a program that is effective with limited time
Collective Learning about Balanced Reading
- Bringing a theme to the balanced reading program could be used as one way to engage student in the program right from the start of the year (not that there would always be a theme, but that one could be used to bring students in)
- As students become more fluent there are still opportunities to challenge them to dig deeper into what they are reading and think about it more critically, one example to organize student questions is through a Q-Chart
Read Alouds
- Help students build semantic cueing by providing background knowledge i.e. the person reading the story asked a general question about the ocean before starting the story
Engage students before reading; discuss ideas; ask questions that will help the students make connections and start their thinking about the reading; set up something for them to answer at the end/middle
It is an opportunity to show children of all ages what reading a book looks like and sounds like. (reading with punctuation, intonation)
Shared Reading
- Shared Reading is a bridge between Read Aloud and Guided reading and releases more responsibility to the student.
- Through teacher modelling and think alouds, students learn to use cueing systems, comprehension strategies, improve fluency, learn about print concepts, etc.
- They help to promote a whole classroom community of learning and ideas from discussions can be referenced by the teacher during smaller learning discussions, such as guided reading.
- Shared reading activities provide the opportunity for exposure to lots of media forms and to use technology such as ELMOs and Smartboards to present a text to students.
- There are also some really cool tools that can be used during shared reading to engage kids (i.e., highlighting tape, special pointer sticks, fly swatter’s with holes cut out in them, wicky sticks).
Guided Reading
- Bridge between shared reading and independent reading
- Introduce students to any important or high frequency words they might encounter in the text
Remember make anecdotal records related to fluency, comprehension, reading strategies, strengths, and next steps or areas of focus during guided reading
Not just sharing reading but about features of text
Ensure the rest of the students are engaged in other independent activities before you start with the guided reading group.
- Here's a great assessment tool shared by Melissa A: http://weinquireandinspire.blogspot.ca/2014/04/going-google-in-guided-reading_30.html
Independent Reading
- There are a number of ways to assess independent reading throughout the various stages of reading that allow students to communicate about their reading; anecdotal record, reading conference, oral retell, reading response journal, written response, reading log, and/or portfolio
- Students build on skills and strategies learned in the other 3 components
- Independent reading is more than just reading: it's allowing the students to make their own connections and have conversations about the text
- While students read independently the teacher can hold conferences with different students to check in with their understanding of the book, and to ensure they are reading a book at their level
- Includes minilessons, independent work as teacher conferences with students, small discussions
- After bring the class together and have students share what they did during their independent reading and about the books they read.
- A sign of a student who doesn't comprehend: begins with a retell with too much detail of the beginning of the story
Shared Resources
Creating a Literacy Rich Environment
from Ashley C
Follow a theme: I love themes! I think if you follow a theme, students keep the semantic cuing systems going always using their background knowledge and making connections to what they are reading. When they are able to make connections they can truly comprehend what they are reading. This also allowed for many cross-curricular connections, for example, if you are teaching about Seasons in science, you can make sure that you have books available about Seasons. Last year I did an Author Study on Dr. Suess, this carried through our reading, writing, science and art activities. We even had truffula trees growing in our classroom; students loved it! This relates to a Balanced Reading Program because you can follow the theme during read alouds, shared reading, guided reading and independent reading.
Create a reading nook: One thing I did not have a space for in my classroom last year was a reading nook. Although we did have reading cushions, I found they made it a bit less organized because they ended up scattered throughout the room. I think having a comfy and quiet space for students to read can definitely make reading more enjoyable. It also keeps the room more organized and makes transitions easier. I think having a well organized room makes it easier to have a successful Balanced Reading Program. The Balanced Reading program works based on a gradual release of responsibility, eventually we want students to be able to take responsibility for their own reading, having an organized room will make it easier for them to work independently.
Real Life Connections: Personally, I think it is important to try to make real life connections whenever possible. I always try to do this prior to a reading lesson. By making these connections students are more likely to read for meaning. I often ask my students how they can connect to a text, and it doesn’t always have to be a text to self connection, they might be able to connect it to something else they have read or seen in the media etc.
from Donna L
Many of these ideas for enrichment are shared reading and writing. The shared reading/writing word wall, students label the room, grocery lists etc in the drama centre and the students work displayed all have a shared component. By explicitly teaching strategies in guided reading we are opening up all of the literacy materials in the room for use by the students. The independent reading component is readily accessed by all of the students all of the time. Children at this age are naturally curious and use most of the materials in the room at one time or another.
from Brittany J
At this time, I would pull one lit. circle group to the guided reading table. I usually have a checklist with me to keep track of what certain students are saying. Sometimes I might use a blank piece of paper and write the students names in a circle. Then I draw lines between them as each student speaks. This shows me who is contributing to the conversation and who isn't. I'm also able to jot down notes by their names as they make an interesting point. Usually, I say very little. I let the students talk and reach their own conclusions. If they are way off-base or the need a little help, I might offer a question for them to consider. Sometimes it's loud. Sometimes it's messy. sometimes students get into such heated debates, I hear yelling from one side of the room. It's an organized chaos, and I'm learning to love it.